Tag Archives: quotes

For last week’s quote I wrote about tears as a sign of grief and love. While I certainly see people experience loss, I am also privileged to see people respond to suffering in extraordinary ways. The Ben Okri quote below encapsulates why I believe that people are capable of doing great things despite their disease, addiction, loss, grief, or circumstances.

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering.” – Ben Okri

Hope your week is off to a good start! This week I am sharing one of my absolute favorite quotes. As many of you know, Maya Angelou passed away on May 28th, 2014. She was an incredible woman, and I’m happy that her words live on through her work.I tend to subscribe to the idea that actions speak louder than words. However, I am quickly learning that empathy speaks louder than actions and words. I love this particular quote because Maya Angelou encapsulates empathy in such a simple, but profound, way. As a social worker, and even more generally as a friend, daughter, or wife, I often do not have the right words or actions to fix a problem. However, I do have the ability to make others feel heard and understood. I can help people feel less alone. I can help bear another’s burden. It is important to remember that listening to someone’s story and validating their experience is often more lasting and meaningful than any words or actions that I come up with on my own.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou

It’s inspirational quote Monday! Time to get the week started off right. This is one of my favorite quotes because it makes me think about empowerment. Sometimes people just need help in the moment. However, most of the time problems are not simply solved. It is often more beneficial to empower people to be strong or to help themselves. The best people I know do more than provide assistance or a shoulder to cry on; they help people discover their own strengths and abilities.

The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own. -Benjamin Disraeli

It’s Monday, which means it’s time for an inspirational quote. This quote reminds me not to be overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable problems in which I have little control. It helps me focus on what I can do rather than what I cannot change.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. -Theodore Roosevelt

It’s always tough getting started. I’ll be posting inspirational quotes every Monday to get the week started off right. Please feel free to make suggestions!

There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways. -Mother Teresa

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About Me

Welcome to Brown is the New Pink!
My name is Ali Brown Pinkerton. I live in Indianapolis, IN with my husband Derek. I'm a medical social worker with my Master's of Social Work from UNC - Chapel Hill. Besides my interest in social justice, I love cooking healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy) foods, running, reading, and traveling.